As the number of students filling out college applications continues to increase, more seniors than ever are choosing to apply to universities through early application initiatives. However, St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, is experimenting with a new variation of the early application process that could reduce waiting times before students hear whether or not they've been accepted, according to The Washington Post.

Jeff Rickley, dean of admissions and financial aid at the university, explained in a guest article published by the newspaper that the new system extends the deadline for early applications to early February.

"[Our continual review early decision program] takes away some of the pressure for students having to make decisions before they are fully informed," Rickley wrote in the article. "Many students hear earlier than they would have in the past, and some – those offered early decision admission – no longer need file applications elsewhere."

Early college applications have become increasingly common at many prestigious universities as students compete for coveted places. According to The Daily Princetonian, the student newspaper of Princeton University in New Jersey, college admissions officials at Princeton received 3,547 early applications this year.